In-Depth at 6:30: Hike in Women Addicted to Opioid Medications

September 27, 2017 12:57 AM

(ABC 6 NEWS) - Opioid addiction is very hot topic in our society -- last year alone, 11.7 billion opioid painkillers were prescribed. Enough to cross the country 50 times.

A new report by pharmacological company Pacira analyzed the impact of opioid overprescribing in America and found patients undergoing seven common surgeries are often being prescribed far more pills than they actually need.

The study concluded that three million patients continue taking opioids three months longer than they actually needed to.

The group most at risk -- women.

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30 percent more opioid prescriptions are written for women than for men *and* 40 percent more female surgery patients become persistent users.

Tom Truszinski with Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge spoke about this issue and has more.